Some 2050 years after the Haruhism wave had long since swept over the otaku world, the Americans finally got their hands on the licenses for the original manga and light novels which spawned the better-known anime Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). The Japanese publisher Kadokawa Shoten entrusted the manga license to Yen Press, and the novels license to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (both of them imprints of Hachette Book Group USA, whoever they are).

You can find the press release with all the PR blah-blah on ANN, but suffice to say that Volume 1 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya manga (priced at $10.99) will be released in October 2008, and that the novels will debut in April 2009 with the first title, from a total of nine volumes. Frankly, though, I'd rather have an update on that Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu 2 anime sequel...

Few animes come even close to Elfen Lied's story (or brutality, or exquisite ecchiness for that matter), and considering that the original manga it's based on was only completed in 2005 - with the anime adaptation airing in 2004 - we can certainly hope we'll see more of it in a sequel. Elfen Lied 2 is, after all, the most yearned-for anime sequel in our current poll.

But that's not what this story is about, unfortunately. The only reason I mentioned it is that the author of Elfen Lied, Rin Okamoto (a.k.a. Lynn Okamoto) has released his (yes it's a "he", despite the misleading name) collection of short stories, titled Flip Flap. More info about it, via AkibaBlog, after this cover pic.

While I am a fan of *certain parts* of the Star Wars universe, personally I didn't know there was a Japanese manga version of the Star Wars comics. Ah well, live and learn. The next thing I will find out is that both Leia and Luke had another two little (twin) sisters, aged twelve, with pink hair and a big sexual appetite.

While casually browsing ComiPress today, I stumbled upon a link to the StarWars.com site, which is filled with related goodies, a shop, things for kids (attention all pedophiles), info about the movies and about the games that came out. All in all, your usual "I love you, insert_franchise_title_here!".

I was trying to find some pictures of naked loli Leia, when I found this article, which is basically a comparison between the Marvel Star Wars comics, which I must say, even being a Marvel fan in my early days, sucks so much ass that it cannot hold that much shit inside, and the subsequent manga. Well... what can I say, the differences are so insane, that they hurt.

From the very beginning of my devouring_manga_and_anime times, I understood one thing: Japanese people are crazy. They have a certain passion that us, the humble people from Europe/America/Other crappy places do not have, and they also have a way to put it into images. Every manga, from mecha to fucking yaoi, unleashes that passion. Hell, the only things that made me cry in my entire life were the end of Elfen Lied (yes, I was insanely drunk), Irya no Sora Ufo no Natsu (God damn it, one hell of a show), Saikano, and various other anime, not necessarily drama bullshit. Oh yes, and the time that I strangled one of my cats, that was also sad.

Well, the same thing happens (no, not the crying routine), when comparing the Marvel Star Wars comics with their Japanese counterparts. The latter are much more... sophisticated, with the level of attention to detail being OVER NINE THOUSAND high. Just check the article for yourself, and you'll understand what I mean. Plus, Leia looks much much better in the manga version. But that's just normal.

So... Many... Lolis! Count them well, there's nearly thirty plenty of them, some more flat-chested than others, but (hopefully) all of them coming in a new anime - and manga - based on last year's eroge KoiHime†Musou ~Doki☆Otome Darake no Sangokushi Engi~... or simply KoiHime Musou. The game was developed by BaseSon, and these screenshots should be pretty self-explanatory as to its highly NSFW nature... By the way, there's also a trailer on Getchu's page, and a bunch of wallpapers freshly added in our KoiHime Musou gallery.

According to this AnimeSuki post where we spotted the announcement, the anime will be produced by Dogakobo, a studio usually hired for in-between animations on various kick-ass titles. As for the manga adaptation, it will be serialized in the seinen manga magazine Dengeki G's Festival! Comic. No date or further details were given for the KoiHime Musou anime, so for now just enjoy the pics. Yummy.

Aye, we don't usually cover any licensing crap, but I happen to have an hour to kill, and this concerns one of the most enjoyable animes from 2007 - sola - so what the hell. Via Anime on DVD, it's become apparent that the anime sola ("sora" meaning "sky" in Japanese) is Bandai Visual's latest acquisition for North America, where they plan to launch the first DVD volume on June 10, 2008.

On Bandai's sola website (more like a static image, really), we are informed that the sola graphic novel will also be released this summer, by Broccoli Books. In case you're not familiar with this title, a brief description can be found on the publisher's products page:

"Once there was a girl who yearned to see the blue sky.-But someone has to pay the price before it can come true.Conceived by the creators of two Japanese blockbuster PC games, Naoki Hisaya (Kanon) and Naru Nanao (D.C. ~ Da Capo~), sola is a mysterious and fantastic story of Yorito Morimiya, a high school student who loves to take photos of the sky. One night, he meets a mysterious girl, Matsuri Shihou, who is what one calls a "Yaka", an immortal, ageless existence. Their chance meeting unravels a story that stood still for hundreds of years...

Lately, Bandai's licensing deals seem to be improving a lot, as they recently acquired the rights for bringing two other promising animes to North America - True Tears and the slightly-censoredShigofumi - both of which are currently being aired in Japan. Ganbatte, Bandai-kun!

Update: Bandai Visual USA has just issued a press release restating the above, along with more about the story, theme and creators of sola... plus a link to Broccoli Book's sola page, where the first graphic novel volume is listed for release on June 18, 2008. Oh and don't worry about dubbing if you're after the anime: it will only have Japanese audio with optional English subtitles.

Moar Clannad? By all means! "Official Another Story" is the title of the new Clannad manga that went on sale this week in Japan, a few days earlier than expected (thanks to some shops apparently breaking the street date of February 21). AkibaBlog reports that this is a new "comicalized" manga published by Broccoli, and the first volume describes its story as seen below - in a rather broken Engrish translation.

"it is a short another story, and its main heroines are from Clannad. Heroines can't help changing due to the flow of the school and the environment. Every heroin experiences the time of 'changing' that everybody faces, and everybody gets worried about. Why don't you experience the another story of Clannad?"

Among the more exciting reports from AkibaBlog these days is one concerning Circle Raijinkai's recently released "Wolf Road" adult doujinshi, based on Ookami to Koushinryou (Spicy Wolf, or Spice and Wolf if you prefer). With its most revealing front and back cover, and some equally not-safe-for-work content, this fan-made manga is quickly rising in hawtness, capturing the wet tissues dreams of otakus all over Akihabara.

"This is hell good outdoor sex & zoophilia!" - one of the stores ranking it as #1 describes the doujinshi. Well, zoophilia may not be our main area of expertise, but the rest sure sounds tempting. If you feel like getting you paws on it, try looking for a certain torrent released today... It's in there somewhere, along with a couple of even better Ookami doujins, if you ask me.

In more official news, the 7th volume of the one true Ookami to Koushinryou light novel series was released earlier this month by Dengeki. Meanwhile, the anime carries on, with the 7th episode airing this week in Japan. So far, so spicy.

If you think you've got what it takes to join the likes of Del Rey, surprising their grumpy officials with your astonishing creative talent, then search no more, because the company decided to open its doors for some of them unsolicited submissions.

In other words, Del Ray is avidly scanning the otaku suburbs for cheap labor, be it manga would-be specialists, be it open minded figures who can come up with some viable scenario for, let's say, graphic novel. A good opportunity, indeed, which any unknown, yet better than mediocre artist should try. Who knows? Maybe you'll get up on the ladder and score some huge amounts cash.

If my drawing techniques, currently non-existent, would be good enough for something like this, I would unleash hell on earth. Loli hell, that is. So, here's the deal:

We are interested in reviewing: 1) Proposals for original, manga-style graphic novels. 2) Portfolios for artists who are proficient at drawing in the manga style. Because manga is such a rich, diverse, and unpredictable medium, with so many styles and genres—and so many possibilities for cross-genre experiments and fresh new styles—we'd rather not limit your imagination by telling you exactly what kinds of stories to submit.

Working my ass off in the gaming industry, I am quite used to seeing all sorts of weekly or monthly charts regarding game sales. There is always a pattern to be followed, especially in the United States, and especially when it comes to PC gizmos - all the damn charts are infested with tons of Sims. Be it Sims 2, be it the various add-ons that followed, EA's addictive extravaganza managed to hypnotize millions. Mostly, retarded people and would-be kami-sama's who probably suck in real life.

Taking a look at the French manga charts, I had a strange feeling of deja-vu. Same pattern, different names, with the mention that, yet again, the crappiest things sell the most. Here, take a look for yourself and bask in awe.

The only thing that stops me from saying some naughty things about the French people and their absolute non-existent tastes when it comes to anything, is the fact that Laetitia Casta is French and that she was a loli at one time.

Del Rey have posted a 25-page preview of their Hell Girl (Jigoku Shoujo) manga online, on MySpace, giving me a great opportunity to point out the kind of girlish graphical style that I hate from the bottom of my caucasian ass. Thank God the anime adopted a much cleaner, yet still "artsy" style, otherwise I may have never come to know and... enjoy one of the spookiest lolis around - Ai Enma.

Those who don't have such "aesthetical" issues, or may even be looking forward to buying the Hell Girl manga in English, better mark their calendars for January 29, when the first volume will be released. The rest of us will now return to our usual program: waiting for the third Jigoku Shoujo anime.